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Children of War: A Friendly Outing
Previous Chapter Children of War: A Friendly Outing Rediscovery: The Demons Within Today, the only sound that accompanied Rohan was the whirring of elevator gears. He stood with gloved hands folded in front of him, his head hung down and his eyes closed. Gone was the suit he wore, replaced by a black short-sleeve jumpsuit colored with gray zippers and boots. His body was still, rocked only by the car's slight shaking as it lifted higher and higher. But his mind was swimming with thoughts about what happened the night before. The first thing that concerned him was the burst of power he had gained during the fight with the strange woman. During the encounter, he had acted two times to absorb the Dust she attempted to attack him with. It wasn't something that anyone could do. It was an intended effect of his creation, an ability input with the purpose of reinforcing his status as a weapon. After a series of events that ended in his separation, he never thought he'd be faced with using it again. But he had did it, though not by his own will. It was simply a reaction of his alien body. Because of it, he felt a bit stronger than he did before. It was a feeling he both liked and hated. He liked it because it made him feel as if his worries were one step farther away from him. He hated it because it was a feeling he had gotten while under the service of his former masters. Even as his eyes squeezed a little tighter, he could see images of his former self wreaking havoc among hapless villages. He could see himself raining fire, lightning and wind upon both structures and people. He could see himself ripping them apart, all the while carrying a blank face. He could even hear the screams, the crying and the death rattles that were eventually silenced by his hand. The more he watched, the closer it seemed to get to reality. It stopped upon a violent shake of his head and a sharp breath. His hands clutched at his temples, fingers digging into his scalp. His teeth grit. "No." He hissed within his head. "That is not me. I am not a weapon. I am not a tool. I am a person. I am not Dust Devil 311. I am Rohan McDougal. I can't afford to forget that. Not now, not ever." "Pathetic." Fehin's voice mocked. "I figured that living among one of the sheep made you soft. But I didn't think it'd weaken you to this point. You've completely forgotten who you were, haven't you? Have you really let them sway you this much?" "Shut up." Rohan growled, softly shaking his head. "I know who I am. I'm just not who you want me to be." "I'm disappointed, 311." The voice continued, unconcerned by the bearing of Rohan's teeth. "The next time that we meet, you'd better be wide and awake. I didn't come all this way just to see that they were right." "I said shut your mouth!" Rohan snapped, blindly slamming his fist against the elevator wall. The moment his fist hit metal was when he realized where he was. His eyes snapped open, and he reeled when he saw the side of his fist buried in a dent within the car's wall. He retracted it and shook it out, taking breaths to calm himself down. He couldn't let Ozpin or Ironwood see him like this. Who knew what they would think? It brought him to his second series of thoughts. He would have to explain what had happened at the tower, answering any questions he could for the sake of their knowledge. But what would they ask him? Would they expect him to be truthful? Would he be in trouble for his actions? These thoughts kept him from being completely calm. But they weren't enough to keep him from falling back to his passive stance. His head was raised this time, his eyes staring intently at the doors as he felt the car come to a halt. With one last breath, he stepped out to greet the ones who summoned him. "Headmaster Ozpin? Professor Goodwitch? General Ironwood? I am here, as you requested." The three had a pertinent discussion, not about the young man, but of the attack on the Vale City communication tower. It was a lynchpin in keeping contact with the other four kingdoms of Remnant, a sign of peace and progress. But during the night of the infiltration, their unknown culprit had snuck in and had accessed sensitive data files, but none were taken. They couldn't detect the source of the problem, only theorize that what had been done could be a number of things that was far more ingrained than a mere hardware extraction or trashing of systems. "Do you think they put in a virus?" Ozpin proferred, possibly repeating himself within the last hour they had gathered to await early for the inevitable student who was at the scene. He personally had lost track, there were so many unanswered questions that needed solving. Something that irritated his dear female companion. "We've done several scans already, but found nothing. Either it's far more sophisticated than we feared or they were after something else entirely. It's equally possible that our brave - yet foolish - student had stopped whatever process that was going on," The General answered while Glynda rolled her eyes and fixed a pair steely eyes to glare at him when she heard he was commendating him; to which he had corrected himself. It was overly optimistic, he knew, but having a shred of enthusiasm was a rarity for his own health. He needed it, even if it was unreasonable, if only to keep the spirits above being the point of depression. "Why didn't the security keep a better watch over our attending students? Or better yet, why did you leave such a critical installation vulnerable to attack when we know that they're on the verge of making a move?" Glynda scrutinized, crossing her arms while visibly twitching under the eyes. Fixing her spectacles she looked at both Ozpin and Ironwood exchange a few looks of helpless resignation, knowing they couldn't please her. Something that all the more infuriated her. "Well?!" "We've yet to put the new automated patrollers out into the street. And it was my belief that local law enforcers could've spotted the perpertrator. Unfortunately, that was too naive, given what was revealed to us," The General intoned, fixing a serious stare towards Ozpin who shared a similar look. "It's her doing, we just don't know who she used." "I'm already on that, General," Ozpin nodded, raising his mug to take a sip the moment they all heard a loud bang. Blinking he set down the mug and the general along with the professor turned to look at the elevator door opened. The sound's origin was quickly forgotten as the Headmaster picked up his cane and walked over to greet Rohan personally. Meekly speaking words out to him, he couldn't help but put down the serious edge and exchange it for his more compassionate side. "Mr. McDougal, or do you prefer Rohan? I'm so thankful for you to come by and appreciate what you did last night, even if it was reckless. Please, take a seat." Leading him to one of the chairs left vacant by the standing Glynda and Ironwood, he turned to stand beside his desk, looking out the clocktower's window. The view of Vale City not far beyond the campus was in full view and it was a bright Sunny day for them all. If the topic wasn't so serious, he'd suggest they take a walk and speak outside to get a refreshing breeze complemented with the warmth of sunshine. Returning to the task at hand, he looked at Rohan with attentiveness while leaning on his cane, "Listen, I want you to know that you're not here to be punished. We will warn you not to ever attempt something this rash again. But you are the only one of considerable health and sound of mind that got a good look at our attacker. The guards that didn't, expire, couldn't tell us anything of worth and the security was nullified when the intruder strode in. Can you tell me anything that stood out to you, anything at all?" Anything that stood out. Rohan thought about it, trying to search through his memories as he sat in the offered chair. The fight was brief, but intense. Everything had been a blur, and he had mostly been focused on beating her rather than finding out who she was. But thankfully, at least a few of her attacks were vibrant enough for him to note. He nodded to himself after collecting his thoughts, then turned his gaze specifically on Ozpin. "Her attacks." He began, pointing two index fingers to emphasize his words. "They consisted of Dust manipulation. The best I saw was use of remote Dust crystals and a Dust-based fire attack that she used to escape the area. She was adept at both hand-to-hand combat and wielded two..." He frowned, his eyebrows furrowing. "Scimitars? Yes, they were scimitars, I believe." He dropped his hands to the chair arms, his frown taking a more disappointed tune. "That's all I've been able to think of." Stroking his chin, Ozpin furrowed his brows. He had heard of a description of an enemy Qrow had encountered with the weapon of choice being scimitars. Not much else was known about her given his haste to save the target of interest. Otherwise the information may have held more relevance other than the unique oddities of this person's choice of combat; especially there wasn't a mark of Dust on any of the guards when she entered. "Seems she felt threatened enough to use Dust, if I couldn't find any on the autopsies of the guards," Ironwood remarked, nodding with exception towards Rohan. "Must have seen you as an undeniable threat." "Still foolish," Glynda muttered as she shook her head. "Interesting how your opponent used Dust. I've only heard of older generation Huntresses and Huntsmen in books where they sewed the mineral of Dust into their clothes. That and using vials means they have plenty access to it, much like a fully active Huntress or Huntsman. This is curious," The Headmaster stated, pacing next to his desk as he mulled over the information given to him. Fighting prowess was expected if this woman singlehandedly rendered unconscious or killed fully armed and armored men protecting a facility meant to be secure. But the use of Dust and the trademark scimitars was something that made him suspicious. "I wonder, if we have heard sightings or reports of similar incidents of this Dust wielding assassin. There aren't many places where one picks up that kind of trade other than the Academies. Which either someone in the shadows had taught them or its a turncoat we've long since thought dead." "Impossible," The professor denied outright. "We would've seen them as first suspects yet none are even a stone's throw away from Vale, other than the facculty of Beacon." "Perhaps," Ozpin admitted. "But one can never be too careful," Turning to look at Rohan he looked at him with a tinge of curiosity. "Is there...anything else you'd like us to know, Rohan?" Rohan tilted his head to the side slightly, his mouth scrunching up in thought once more. They had called him in for the sake of relaying what had happened, and he had did just that to the best of his ability. He only wished he could tell them more, but it was beyond his knowledge. Everything from here on out was potentially in the hands of the higher-ups. All he could do - at least, until his team leader said otherwise - was to sit and wait. Then again, had they known about his and his friends' investigation? A part of him told him to stay quiet. But the majority scolded that part for even thinking about it. These were respectable leaders. They would've wanted him to be honest and not keep them in the dark, lest they wanted to be unprepared for what was to come. Goodwitch would no doubt be agitated at him as well as all of them for their actions. But at the very least, they would be made even more aware of the threat. He placed his palms together in front of his mouth and took a preparatory breath before speaking. "I... my team, and the teams Ruby, Juniper and Sun and Neptune of team Sun." He said, meeting Ozpin's gaze. "We decided to take our own investigation into the movements of the White Fang and Roman Torchwick. Outside of them, there are new identities and potentially factions working alongside both the thief and the terrorist group. There were also large amounts of Dust and weaponry made for it, including the presence of anti-Aura technology." Ozpin had an inkling something had gone down. But unlike other authority figures, he made a bet on his hunch that the students would eventually divulge what their undercover activities were. He had heard rumors there was a bustle a couple weeks ago about a false alarm trying to be passed but didn't make it to his friend the police chief. He didn't pursue the issue if only for the matter that they muddied the waters of any potential lead to what was trying to be reported. So he waited, and now he knew the truth in full. Looking to his colleagues, he saw that the General was far too guarded and cagey to show his emotions other than a dilation of the eyes. He was very surprised no doubt that these students gathered such crucial information that his army or his own graduated group of Huntsmen and Huntresses couldn't find out on their own. But their female friend had a different opinion on the issue. The sudden spout of anger was released when Glynda heard the details. At first, she was trying to deny that anything he said was true, not wanting to believe such illicit actions of her students transpired that put them in so much danger. Then, realizing who's team he belonged with, it made a ridiculous amount of sense. To get the other teams involved was not only foolish but incredibly reckless. With eyes glowing purple, she lunged physically towards the elevator only to be held back by Ironwood. "LET ME GO!" "No can do," Ironwood blankly replied, sighing as she struggled and flailed wildly in his underarm grip. "I'LL ROUND THEM UP AND PUNISH THEM ALL! DAMN YOU, TEAM ARES! I'LL SEE YOU PUNISHED WITH THE UTMOST SEVERITY FOR THIS! JUST YOU WAIT!" She hollered, screaming to the point of looking like a madwoman. "Now-Now, please calm down," Ozpin intervened, clapping loud enough to get her attention. Watching her heave heavily, she squirmed but didn't seem as infuriated. Looking to Rohan he placed a hand on the desk and stared at him with a keen understanding. His suspicions now justified, he'd allow a good explanation for what they did. "Now, I can understand you wanting to help keep the peace, or even help out with Huntsmen duties in an extracurricular way. But Professor Goodwitch has right to be furious with you, what you did wasn't excusable. We should have all of you suspended indefinitely..." Inhaling deeply, he exhaled calmly as he smiled at him. "But, we're in dire times, as you no doubt know. I can understand the anxiety you must have felt since the incident at the docks, especially since you fought them firsthand. But, if you had such evidence gathered after this reckless activity, why didn't you report it? Surely if you felt compelled to bring them to justice, why did you hide the truth from us, or even the authorities?" He inquired, patiently waiting for an answer while Ironwood listened in with intrigue and Glynda twitched with iration. Rohan's face was kept blank for a few seconds. Then, he slowly pointed a finger at Glynda. "That would be one reason." He said, his tone neutral. "We were afraid that we would face retaliation for our actions - something I see was almost justified." He lowered his arm back down onto the armrest. "In addition, there were select few of us who believed the authorities to be unable unable to contain the situation - a belief reinforced by the murders of several high-ranking police officers at the docks." He took in a deep breath, switching from looking directly at Ozpin to shifting his gaze in constant rhythm from all three of the adults. His form straightened up in his chair. "I understand that we acted without authorization or supervision. But I," He placed a hand on his heart. "We understood the meaning of consequence from the moment of our initiation. Pain and death are cold realities, even for students. Hesitation will bring us closer to those realities. We saw a threat in front of us, and we acted only with appropriate action. We stood against the risks, and for our efforts, we were rewarded." By this point, he was focusing a bit longer on Glynda more than anyone else. His neutral tone was laced with a bit more pleading. "Therefore, I cannot apologize for anyone else, nor can I apologize for my involvement. But I ask this. If not us, then who? If not now, then when? If we hadn't acted, then who would have? Would things have been done differently, had you been faced with the same situation?" "I see...so this is MY fault now-?!" "Ahem," Ozpin interjected, shooting her a dubious stare that made the blonde woman roll her eyes and sputter with disbelief. As she was released by Ironwood she raised her arms up exaggeratively in defeat while the Headmaster turned to address the student. What he said had a lot of merit and he spoke with nothing but a straightforwardness that befitted his personality. Smiling, he placed both hands on the top of his cane. "Thank you, Rohan, for coming clean with your group's secrets. I understand that some of the school's faculty can be a bit," He sighed, looking at Glynda for a moment as she turned her back to both adult men present. Chuckling, he rolled the cane a bit in his grip as he emphasized carefully. "Strict-" "HA!" "-But," He continued, ignoring Miss Goodwitch's snarky outburst. "I can understand how you came to those conclusions. I trust the police chief here in Vale City, I do, but we both understand there are large discrepancies and breaches of trust in security that should be otherwise safe places or trustworthy organizations. It is a dangerous world out there and sometimes listening to your gut is all you have, even if its in our best interests to tell you no. So what I'm going to say is...be careful and...well done." Taking care to give the young man a wink and a broad smile, he gestured towards the General as the silently stewing Professor Goodwitch said nothing to his final statements, "Please, if you'd be so kind, Rohan if you could collaborate with us with any form of evidence to support your findings so that our good friend, General Ironwood, can take the proper measures to keep things like this from spiraling out of control. If there is nothing else, you are free to enjoy the rest of this beautiful day." "Huh, well alright then," Ironwood nodded with respect, smiling slightly at Rohan's direction. "I can come back before school day's over to collect anything you and your friends had found out. Take your time pulling it out of whatever beds you hid it under." "Tch," Glynda huffed, already resigned to just stay back and just watch things transpire from the sidelines without a say in what was to happen.